All my Fault
by WriterofDigimon
Summary: What if Jackie never caught Jade?


UNTITLED  
  
A story based off of episode 13, The Day of the Dragon. What if Jackie never saved Jade when she fell from the building? Here's my interpretation of what might happen. But why is this story called Untitled? Because I can't come up with a title! Once the story is finished, I'll hopefully give it one.

  
"Grab my legs!" Jackie screamed to the painter as he flung himself over the ledge to catch Jade.  
Jackie flashed his arms at the speed of lightning towards Jade and when he had tried to grab her, he could've sworn he had. But in the blink of an eye, he noticed that Jade had continued to fall.  
"NO!" Jackie screamed helplessly watching Jade fall. Jackie thought for sure that she was going to hit the ground. But, a delivery truck broke her fall. The truck had stopped and the driver came out to see what the thud was.  
  


* * *

  
"Will she be okay?" Jackie asked the doctor as she exited the emergency room.  
"She's lucky to be alive. It's a good thing she hit that tuck though. She would've had no chance of survival if she had hit the cement." She paused and flipped through some papers on her clipboard. "Her limbs are broken in three places… Neck is fractured… Fingers snapped… Possible brain damage…"  
"Brain damage?" Jackie almost cried.  
The doctor nodded, "Yes. However we're not positive of how severe the damage is."  
Jackie's eyes were in tears. He didn't know what to say except, "I wish I had known she was there." He knew it wasn't his fault he didn't know. Captain Black could've told him that she was with him. They heard footsteps from down the hall and the two drew their attention to where the sound was coming from. It was Tohru and Uncle.  
"For you. It is Captain Black." Uncle gave Jackie a cell phone.  
"He-hello?" Jackie tried to say clearly.  
"I've called Jade's parents. I told them to meet me at the shop. They'll be here in about twelve hours."  
"Thank you." Jackie replied and he hung up.  
"What happened? Is Jade okay?" Tohru asked.  
"She's not doing too well. Both her arms and legs are broken and her neck is fractured." She repeated for them.  
Uncle gave Jackie a mean look and his eyes in soft tears. Jackie could have poured tears at that moment.  
"Why couldn't it have been me?" Tohru shook his head.  
"It's all my fault. I had no idea she was there… She always followed me… And I know I'm faster than that. I know that I should've been able to save her. I thought I had her…" Jackie sobbed a little harder. "It's all my fault."  
Tohru put his hand on Jackie's shoulder. "No it isn't."  
"I will go back in and see how she is doing. You can wait in the lobby down the hall until you may come in." The doctor pointed to an open room at the end of the hallway.  
They began to walk down the hall. "It is your fault for not saving her!"  
Uncle scolded Jackie. A nurse walking by told him to hush. "But it was Captain Black's fault that you didn't know she was there…"  
"No. It's all my fault. I know I could've caught her." He sniffed. Once they reached the lobby, he sat down first and covered his face with his hand. "I don't believe this."  
Uncle sat next to him. "Jade will be okay, I am sure of it…"  
"Do you have a spell that could revive her if she…"  
"I don't think so. Besides, Jade is young and strong, she will heal quickly. I know it."  
Jackie didn't respond. He leaned his head on his hand. He noticed some people were staring at him in sorrow. He closed his eyes...  
While waiting, Jackie heard footsteps getting closer to him and opened his eyes. It was Jade's teacher, Miss Heartman.  
"I heard what happened." she tried to say as calmly as she could. "I'm so sorry for..."  
"No need for an apology, Miss Heartman."  
"I know, but I wish there was something I could do about it. The class had heard about the accident as well. They made this for you and Jade." She pulled out a big card made out of construction paper and handed it to Jackie. "They wanted to do something even better for you, but this is all they could do in the class together."  
"Really? That's not necessary..."  
"Don't beat yourself up about it. The children believe that it would be a good idea. Even Drew feels sorry and I've watched him bully her a few times..." She paused to see if Jackie would respond. But he did not. "It's just sad that a child... with... that great of imagination..." she tried to say a full sentence, but she couldn't get it organized, "...She could've been a very important person..."  
"She IS a very important person!" he said a little louder than he had intended. He sad back in silence.  
Miss Heartman covered her mouth...  
  


* * *

  
It had been three hours already. Uncle had fallen asleep, Tohru had read every magazine three times, and Miss Heartman sat in silence. Jackie remained silent as well.  
"Chan?" The doctor came in. Her face was practically expressionless.  
Jackie stood up and Tohru woke Uncle. They walked to the end of the hall to the door of the room. Miss Heartman followed.  
"Jade has no sign of brain damage. But there is a disturbance in her nerves. There is a chance she may go into a coma..." the doctor told them quietly. "But don't mention anything to Jade about that. Or how she looks. We don't want her to get upset."  
The doctor opened the door and allowed them to enter. Jade was in bed, bandaged up.  
"Hi Jackie." Jade wanted to say, but she couldn't speak. Instead, she smiled as best as she could.  
"Hello Jade…" Jackie said quietly.  
"She can't speak and she can barely move due to her injuries. We don't want her to hurt herself.  
Jackie carefully stroked Jade's head. "It's okay Jade. Uncle says you'll be fine soon. I hope he's right."  
"Of course I am right!"  
Jackie decided to ignore Uncle. "I'm sorry Jade… It's all my fault."  
Jade began to cry. She wanted to tell him that it was her fault for not being careful.  
"But I will to make it up to you. I promise."  
Miss Heartman came over as well. "The whole class misses you Jade".  
Jackie held out the card to show Jade the names and get well wishes that were on it, "They wanted your teacher to bring it.  
Miss Heartman watched but only got a weak a smile in response. She frowned and backed away in silence from the bed.  
After that, the doctor decided that she needed some rest. It was late anyhow.  
  


* * *

  
The next morning was happy for Jackie. Tohru had made the best eggs and bacon ever and Uncle was still asleep. That herbal tea really works.  
Just finishing breakfast, the phone rang.  
"Uncle's Rare Finds, may I… What? No…" Jackie began to sob. "Yes… Yes I will… All right… Thank you." And with that, he hung up.  
"What is it?" Tohru looked concerned.  
Jackie held his head down. His eyes tearful. He moaned a little and hesitated to talk.  
Tohru waited in silence for the news. He suspected it was something awful. He hoped it wasn't something too bad. If it was, he didn't want to hear it. But he had no choice but to take it.  
"Jade passed away early this morning…"  
Tohru felt a weight drop inside him. Like a bag of bricks, his heart sank. He knew he didn't want to know.  
Uncle came down the stairs noticing their silence. "What is going on here?"  
Tohru and Jackie gave Uncle a grave face. He knew what that face meant and his eyes began to tear.  
After a short pause, Jackie continued. "Jade's parents are with Captain Black at the hospital waiting for us... We should go..."  
  


* * *

  
The next day, Jackie garbed himself in a black tuxedo. He thought it wasn't necessary to wear such a thing, but everything else he had wasn't all that "nice". Uncle and Tohru dressed in their nicest black suits as well. None of them spoke at all as they prepared for the visitation... There was no point.  
As they were on their way to the car, Jackie noticed Tohru's mother walking down the sidewalk.  
"It was the billy goat's fault! He should've been watching Jade!" she screamed at Uncle. Uncle was speechless. It was partially his fault. He should've made sure Jade didn't leave the shop. But she always seemed to escape. All he could do was look at her with sad eyes. She was crying as well.  
She decided to keep quiet.  
Jackie started up the van and they drove off to the funeral home.  
  
Jackie sat in a chair with his head down. "It... It was my fault... I know I could've tried to grab her earlier. Why didn't I? How could I not have caught her?" he said quietly to himself. Uncle heard him and put his hand on his shoulder and handed him a tissue. Jackie stood up, accepting the tissue and walked over to Jade. She lay motionless in her coffin. Her face lightly covered in makeup and she was wearing her favorite clothes. The combination of the red short-sleeve sweatshirt, the while long-sleeve cotton shirt underneath, and the blue caprees.  
"I... I'm sorry..." he said slowly. He began to cry again. "It wasn't all my fault was it, Jade? No. You wouldn't blame me..."  
Uncle stood up and stood next to Jackie. "Looks pretty." he said and tried to smile. "She knows it's not your fault, Jackie." he shook his head. "She probably thinks that it was all her fault." he rubbed Jackie's shoulder.  
Jackie began to pour tears and grabbed Uncle's shoulders. He cried and couldn't stop crying. Uncle knew that he would've done this. Jackie's good side proved that he would just two days ago when his yin and yang were separated. He allowed him to cry his eyes out on him. Better him than Jade.  
  
Tohru and his mother were in one of the back rooms trying to keep their minds off of Jade. Tohru sat and stared at a painting on the wall. It was a very old painting of a young man. He looked as if he were of great importance or royalty.  
Tohru's mother walked about the room examining the antiques. There were old photos, little bowls and pots, and an old broom in the corner. She hated them. She never really liked antiques. She sat in a chair in front of the fireplace in which there was no fire. But it was the only thing in the room she did like. The terricotta colored bricks, the smooth metal frame on the bottom...  
  
As the visitation continued, Captain Black arrived along with Viper, El Toro, and Paco too had come.  
Captain Black sat next to Jackie. "Sorry we're late." Captain Black let his head drop shamefully.  
"It's all right." Jackie sniffed.  
El Toro shook his head, "We are just sorry that this happened."  
"No need for an apology..." Jackie shook his head as well.  
"I hate to see children like this..." Viper said with anger, "She was so brave and smart... How could this have happened?" she buried her face in her hand. El Toro hugged her and all went silent, except for Jade's parents talking in the back room.  
  
"It wasn't all Jackie's fault." Jade's father Shin said to his wife.  
"Your cousin is a menace! He's a danger to himself and society! He killed our daughter!" crying heavily.  
"He didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident!" he said quietly.  
"It doesn't matter now." she calmed down a bit. "She's gone and there's nothing we can do. There's no use blaming anyone..." she paused and lifted her head up and leveled her eyes with his, "but us... It's our fault this happened. If only we never sent Jade to America... If only we didn't send her to them..." she broke down and cried again.  
Shin remained silent but gave her a hug to comfort her.  
  


* * *

  
After the long ceremony, they headed back outside into the car and watched Jade being carried out with care into the hertz and thought of all the great things she had done... The trip to Moose World... The times she saved Jackie and Uncle from Tohru... The time she helped El Toro regain his self esteem... The time she helped retrieve the Snake talisman from Viper when she was a thief... The time she rescued Jackie from the Shadowkhan with the turbo turtle... The time she changed Maynard... The time she fetched the Rat talisman from the giant Gnome Cop... The time she prevented Jackie from turning into stone... The time she helped retrieve the Monkey talisman... The time she helped prevent Shendu from finding the other half of the Tiger talisman... She had done so much for them in such little time... What are they going to do without her?  
They began to drive to a private air strip for the long trip to Hong Kong for the burial ceremony...  
  


* * *

  
Everyone stood around Jade's coffin. Each of them held a flower and every one of them was either yellow, pink, or white. Everyone held them with care. As the ceremony progressed, they remained silent. But the images of Jade were the only thing on their minds.  
Uncle poured a special Chi powder onto Jade's coffin with care. They proceeded to place the flowers on top of the casket. Everyone had tearful eyes. With Jade's parents being last both said little prayers as they lay their flower upon her and stepped away with care and respect. They all stood silent around Jade as she was lowered into the earth...  



End file.
